Shadowing Practice: Past Simple in Conversation | What Did You Do Yesterday? - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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Hi, I'm Julie with English Panda News.
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Hi, I'm Julie with English Panda News.
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Today I'm on the street asking people a simple question.
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What did you do yesterday?
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This is Bob.
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He works in an office and loves exercise.
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Bob, what did you do yesterday?
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Yesterday?
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Well, I woke up early because I like to exercise before work.
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I left home around 5 a.m and walked to the gym.
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Once I arrived at the gym,
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I stretched and did some cardio to warm up.
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Great!
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What cardio did you do?
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I usually ride a stationary bike.
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I jogged for 20 minutes to loosen up my muscles.
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Then I lifted weights for an hour.
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Yesterday was an arm day.
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Oh, I hate those.
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What did you do after you finished your workout?
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I finished at 8.30 and I went straight to work.
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I had meetings all morning and worked on a project during the afternoon.
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It sounds like you were very busy.
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What time did you finish work?
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I finished work at my normal time, around 5 o'clock.
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Then I went to meet a friend at a restaurant nearby.
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We had a really nice dinner.
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I had steak and she had pasta.
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I got home around 8 o'clock and I watched TV for a while.
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I was exhausted after a busy day and I actually fell asleep on the couch.
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Nice.
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Thanks for your time.
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Excuse me.
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I'm interviewing some people and asking,
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what did you do yesterday?
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Can you tell us about your day?
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Sure.
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Yesterday was a school day,
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so I woke the kids up at 6 o'clock and made breakfast for the family.
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We had pancakes, our favorite.
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My husband drove the kids to school,
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so I gave them each a big kiss and a big lunch.
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How nice of you!
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You had the house to yourself.
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Did you relax?
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I wish!
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I did chores all morning.
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First I did the laundry,
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then I washed the breakfast dishes and made the beds.
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Did you relax then?
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Ha!
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No!
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Then I vacuumed the floors and cleaned the bathrooms.
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So then did you get a chance to relax?
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Yes, finally!
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I read my book for about 20 minutes.
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It was almost 3 o'clock and I had to pick up the kids from school.
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We stopped for ice cream on the way home.
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And at 5 o'clock I took them to their swimming lesson and chatted with the other parents.
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We had such a nice time catching up.
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My husband came home right after we did and we prepared dinner together.
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He is a great cook.
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After we ate dinner, I helped the kids with their homework.
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It was my turn.
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They played a game for a while and then I put them to bed at 9 o'clock.
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Woo!
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That's a lot.
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Yeah, I went to bed right after that.
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Excuse me, what did you do yesterday?
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I'm on vacation, so I slept in until 10 o'clock.
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I love hotel beds.
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After I got up, I started the day with coffee.
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Well, actually, two cups of coffee.
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My hotel didn't offer breakfast,
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so I went to a restaurant and had eggs and toast.
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And more coffee.
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After I got ready, I went sightseeing around the city,
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and I took lots of pictures of all the beautiful and interesting things.
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The architecture, statues, parks.
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Your city is amazing.
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Yes, there's so much to see and do.
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Did you see everything?
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No, I didn't go to any museums,
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but I saw a lot.
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My feet were tired after walking so much.
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So I chilled in a cafe for a few hours and posted some pics on social media.
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Great!
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Did you meet anyone interesting?
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Yes, actually.
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I met a cool group of locals there and they invited me to a live music show.
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In the evening I met up with them and they took me to a really cool bar with a great band playing.
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The singer was really energetic and what a voice.
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We had a few drinks,
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shared some food and had a super interesting conversation.
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They were great company.
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Wow, look who it is!
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My friend John!
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Hi Julie!
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Wow, cool camera!
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John, do you have time to tell the viewers what you did yesterday?
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Sure!
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I didn't sleep well the night before because I stayed up late to study.
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And I had to wake up early because I had to attend class at 7 o'clock.
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I spent a few hours in the library studying and studying and studying some more.
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I also did homework for my math class and researched some topics for an assignment.
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Wow, you sound really busy.
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Yeah, that's the student life.
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I promised my parents that I would do well and make them proud.
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I'm sure they are very proud.
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Did you even have time to eat with all that studying?
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Yes, I took a few breaks throughout the day and gave myself an hour to have a nice lunch.
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Then I took a test in the afternoon.
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It was an important one.
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I hope I did well.
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Wow!
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I hope you were able to relax when you got home.
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Hi!
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What did you do yesterday?
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I took the day off work because I had a lot of chores to do.
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First, I went grocery shopping at the local supermarket.
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I also bought a birthday gift for a friend at the mall.
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What did you get for your friend?
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I printed a lovely photo of the two of us and bought a nice frame to put it in.
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She looks great in the picture.
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I think she'll love it.
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Oh, I'm sure she will.
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What else did you do?
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On the way to the mall,
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I picked up a package from the post office and I dropped off some clothes for dry cleaning.
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My internet wasn't working well,
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so after I got home,
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I called the internet company to get it fixed.
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I was on hold for an hour,
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but finally I could speak to someone and they sent a technician to my house in the afternoon.
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I was hungry after all of that running around,
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so I cooked myself a nice meal.
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The rest of my day was pretty quiet,
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so I listened to some music and fell asleep.
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What about you?
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What did you do yesterday?
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Let us know in the comments below.
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This is Julie with English Panda News, signing off.
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Thanks for watching and don't forget to like and subscribe.

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About This Lesson

In this lesson, you will focus on using the past simple tense in conversation, specifically within the context of daily activities. By watching the interactions in the video titled "What Did You Do Yesterday?", you will gain insights into how native speakers describe their past experiences and routines. This practice is essential for enhancing your english speaking practice, making it easier for you to engage in conversations about your own daily life.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • woke up - to rise from sleep
  • finished work - to complete your job for the day
  • went straight - to move directly without delay
  • made breakfast - to prepare the morning meal
  • did chores - to complete household tasks
  • picked up - to collect someone from a location
  • chatted - to talk in a friendly way
  • fell asleep - to lose consciousness temporarily, particularly while resting

Practice Tips

For effective shadowing practice, listen to the video at a manageable pace. Pay attention to how the speakers use the past simple tense to narrate their daily activities. Try to mimic their tone, speed, and intonation, as this will help you improve english pronunciation significantly.

Start by watching the video once without pausing to understand the context. Then, on the second viewing, pause after each sentence or question, and repeat the phrases aloud. Focus on matching the rhythm and energy of the speakers. This technique of shadow speech not only enhances your speaking skills but also helps reinforce your understanding of common conversational structures.

Utilizing this shadowing site will assist you in integrating new vocabulary into your everyday conversations, allowing you to speak more naturally and confidently. Consistent practice will build your fluency, making your interactions in English more enjoyable and effective. Challenge yourself to use these phrases in your conversations, turning each practice session into an opportunity for improvement.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

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